The present invention relates to a motor vehicle having an internal combustion engine coupled to a transmission to drive the vehicle, a flywheel between the engine and transmission for equalizing the non-uniformity of the engine output torque, a main clutch arranged between the flywheel and transmission for shifting gears, and an auxiliary controllable clutch between the engine and flywheel for automatically interrupting the coupling at predetermined operating states of the vehicle.
A motor vehicle having a main clutch and auxiliary controllable clutch is shown and described in commonly owned U.S. patent Application Ser. No. 955,186, filed Oct. 27, 1978 and now U.S. Pat. No. 4,252,208. The auxiliary controllable clutch is actuated automatically to interrupt the coupling between the engine and transmission at operating states in which the engine does not drive the vehicle and the flywheel rotates above a predetermined minimum speed, as normally occurs during idling or deceleration. The engine is recoupled to the flywheel when such operating conditions are terminated. During such times as the flywheel is disconnected from the engine, during idling or deceleration, the engine is stopped to result in savings in fuel consumption and reduction of the overall pollutants emitted.